Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The Taste of Freedom


Just as the ocean has one taste, the taste of salt, even so this Dhamma has one taste too: the taste of freedom.

~ The Buddha, Uposatha Sutta

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Freedom

From this hour, freedom!
From this hour I ordain myself loos’d of limits and imaginary lines,
Going where I list, my own master, total and absolute,
Listening to others, and considering well what they say,
Pausing, searching, receiving, contemplating,
Gently, but with undeniable will, divesting myself of the holds that
would hold me.

I inhale great draughts of space;
The east and the west are mine, and the north and the south are mine.

I am larger, better than I thought;
I did not know I held so much goodness.

~ Walt Whitman, Song of the Open Road

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Carrots

Nasrudin was sent by the king to investigate the lore of various kinds of Eastern mystical teachers. They all recounted to him tales of the miracles and the sayings of the founders and great teachers, all long dead, of their schools.

When he returned home, he submitted his report, which contained the single word "carrots."

He was called upon to explain himself. Nasrudin told the king, "The best part is buried; few know -- except the farmer -- by the green that there is orange underground; if you don't work for it, it will deteriorate; and there are a great many donkeys associated with it."

~ from The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin by Idries Shah